Document Content

DECISION

Approving the Scheme on socio-economic development and defense and security maintenance in the Western Region of Thanh Hoa province till 2010

THE PRIME MINISTER

Pursuant to the December 25, 2001 Law on Organization of the Government;

Pursuant to the Political Bureau's Resolution No. 37-NQ/TW on orientations for socio-economic development and defense and security maintenance in the northern midland and mountainous regions till 2010;

At the proposals of the People's Committee of Thanh Hoa province in Report No. 3287/TTr-UB of August 16, 2005, on approval of the scheme on socio-economic development and defense and security maintenance in the western region of Thanh Hoa province till 2010; and of the Planning and Investment Ministry in Official Letter No. 6914-BKH/KTDP< of October 7, 2005,

DECIDES:

Article 1.- To approve the scheme on socio-economic development and defense and security maintenance in the western region of Thanh Hoa province till 2010, with the following principal contents:

1. Development objectives till 2010:

To bring the western region of Thanh Hoa province out of the state of underdevelopment; to improve the material and spiritual life of ethnic minority people, especially those in deep-lying and border areas; to repel social evils, well maintain defense and border security and protect a sustainable environment.

2. Development orientations toward 2010:

- To accelerate sustainable economic growth on the basis of stepping up economic restructuring, tapping the potentials and comparative edges of the region in order to create a breakthrough in agricultural, forestry and industrial commodity production and expansion of services.

- To increase the economic growth rate and concurrently to effectively solve social problems, eradicate hunger, alleviate poverty and raise the living standards of local people, with a view to step by step narrowing the living standard gap between people in highland and border areas and those in low mountainous areas, between mountainous areas and plain areas. To preserve and promote national cultural identities and repel social evils.

- To concentrate resources on investment in construction of economic, social, traffic, irrigation, electricity, information and communications infrastructures, schools, health stations, hospitals, cultural projects, physical training and sports facilities, and urban infrastructures in mountainous areas, with priority given to communication and irrigation development, thus creating a driving force for socio-economic development.

- Socio-economic development must be coupled with the greater consolidation of defense and security, promotion of solidarity among people of different ethnic groups, firm maintenance of political stability, and cooperation in building a stable borderline with Laos for comprehensive development.

3. A number of major targets till 2010

a/ Economically:

- The annual economic growth rate shall be 15% or higher, in which: agriculture, forestry and fisheries shall grow 9.0%; industry and construction, 26.3%; services, 15.1%.

- The agriculture'industry'service structure in the GDP by 2010 shall be 37.7% - 31.5% - 30.8%.

- Per-capita income shall be VND 9.3 million.

- Per-capita food portion shall be 348 kg/year (420 kg/year for the whole province).

- Export value shall reach USD 50 million.

b/ Culturally and socially:

- To reduce the natural population growth rate to 1%/year. The population by 2010 shall be around 1,105,000.

- To reduce the percentage of poor households to below 25%.

- 100% of districts shall attain the standards of lower secondary education universalization.

- 100% of communes shall have health stations, of which 60% shall have medical doctors.

- To reduce the rate of malnourished under-5 children to around 28%.

- To reduce the mortality rate of under-1 children to 23%.

- 95% of the population shall be covered by television broadcasts and 100% of the population covered by radio broadcasts.

- 70% of families shall attain the standards of cultured families.

- The percentage of trained laborers shall reach 25%.

c/ On infrastructures:

- 100% of communes shall have motor roads to their centers, and 90% of rural roads shall be trafficable all year round.

- 100% of intra-field canals and ditches and inter-district and inter-commune canals shall be solidified.

- 100% of communes and 90% of households shall be supplied with electricity.

- 100% of communes shall have telephones, with 5.6 telephone sets for every 100 people.

- Thatched classrooms shall be abolished and 80% of the total number of classrooms shall be solidified.

- 80% of the population shall be supplied with clean water.

4. Orientations for development of branches and sectors.

a/ Development of socio-economic infrastructure

- Communication:

To concentrate resources on development of communication routes combining economic development with defense.

+ To upgrade national highways Nos. 45, 47 and 217 with a total length of 192 km.

+ To build roads linking the western mountainous districts of Thanh Hoa province; the main route shall be 183 km long and run through Quan Hoa, Muong Lat, Quan Son, Lang Chanh and Thuong Xuan districts, and 8 transversal roads with a total length of 227 km, including:

. Muong Lat ' Chieng Nua,

. Van Mai ' Ta Buc,

. Ten Tan ' Cang border-gate,

. Lang Chanh ' Yen Khuong,

. Yen Khuong ' Meng border-gate,

. Thuong Xuan ' Bat Mot,

. Bat Mot ' Kheo border-gate,

. Yen Cat ' Thanh Quan ' Bu Cam.

+ To invest in upgrading Ngoc Lac ' Van Mai section (86 km) of national highway No. 15A for promotion of economic exchange with the northeastern provinces and linked with Nghi Son deep-water port.

+ To build the East-West traffic corridor: Thanh Hoa ' Hua Phuan ' Myanmar (running through Ten Tan border-gate, Muong Lat district).

+ To upgrade and complete provincial roads up to the standards of grade-IV, grade-V or grade-VI roads, which run through expanded townships and commune urban centers under the planning; to upgrade 8 provincial road sections with a total length of 520 km.

+ To invest in building roads with a total length of 306 km to 14 communes where no motor road exists, ensuring that 100% of rural roads shall be macadamized or better built, of which 90% shall be trafficable all year round.

+ To invest in building roads with a length of around 650 km along the borderline for the purpose of border patrol in combination with socio-economic development through 5 border districts of Muong Lat, Quan Son, Quan Hoa, Thuong Xuan and Lang Chanh.

+ To invest step by step in the system of car terminals in mountainous districts.

- Irrigation:

+ To accelerate the construction progress of Cua Dat reservoir irrigation ' hydroelectric power project (including the system of irrigating canals).

+ To invest in new key irrigation works and upgrade some existing ones, including:

. Investment in renovation and upgrading of 600 lakes and dams for irrigation of areas meeting with difficulties.

. The irrigation system in Quan Son, Quan Hoa and Ba Thuoc districts.

. Flood-diverging, -slowing and -cohabiting works in the Buoi river basin in Thach Thanh district.

. Key works in Muc river's reservoir.

. Investment in irrigation works for areas under sugarcane in Thach Thanh and Nhu Thanh districts.

+ To solidify 605 km of intra-field canals and ditches and inter-district and inter-commune canals.

- Supply of clean water, electricity and telecommunications services:

+ To invest in 8 daily-life water supply systems for 8 district capitals and 590 clean water supply works for villages and hamlets. To strive for the target that by 2010, 80% of the local population shall be supplied with hygienic water.

+ To finalize the planning on development of the power grid in the mountainous areas and raise the capacity of transformer stations; to develop the 35 kV and 22 kV power grids from 110 kV transformer stations to communes where conditions permit; to accelerate investment in power grids under the guideline "the national power grid reaches where roads are built." By 2010, 100% of communes shall be supplied with electricity in service of daily life and production.

+ To complete the construction of hydroelectric power plants in Uon hamlet (Quan Hoa district), Lo river (Quan Son district) and Chang river (Nhu Xuan) and other medium- and small-sized hydroelectric power plants.

+ To invest in building an optic-fiber cable line to Muong Lat highland district, and provide mobile phone services to all district capitals, key economic development areas, industrial-commercial and service zones and clusters.

- To develop a system of urban centers and industrial parks:

+ To build Ngoc Lac urban center into a center of the western region of Thanh Hoa province and concurrently a gateway for economic exchange with neighboring provinces (through Ho Chi Minh Road). To invest in the traffic system and the water drainage system in Ngoc Lac urban center.

+ By 2010, to have formed another urban center of the highland region in Dong Tam (Ba Thuoc) and develop some more new urban centers along Ho Chi Minh Road, including:

. Bai Tranh urban center (Nhu Xuan), which shall be an economic exchange hub linking Nghi Son port with the northeastern region and Mekong river sub-region.

. Thach Quang urban center (Thach Thanh), which shall be an industrial-tourist urban center.

+ To develop a number of new district townships, such as: Van Du (Thach Thanh); Cam Thanh (Cam Thuy); Ten Tan (Muong Lat); Na Meo (Quan Son); Hien Kiet (Quan Hoa); Pho Doan and Dien Lu (Ba Thuoc); Yen Khuong (Lang Chanh); Pho Chau (Ngoc Lac); Khe Ha and Cua Dat (Thuong Xuan); Xuan Quy (Nhu Xuan); Can Khe and Ben En (Nhu Thanh), etc. To develop commune urban centers along Ho Chi Minh Road and population quarters associated with rural markets in mountainous districts.

+ To create favorable conditions for development of industrial parks in combination with urban development in Thach Quang ' Thach Thanh, Bai Tranh ' Nhu Xuan, Pho Cong ' Ngoc Lac.

+ To form and develop industrial parks and clusters in Nhu Thanh, Ba Thuoc, Cam Thuy and Thuong Xuan districts, and a number of small-sized industrial clusters in districts to attract rural laborers for the purpose of agricultural and rural modernization and industrialization.

b/ Development of agriculture, forestry and fishery

- Regarding agriculture: To step up restructuring of agricultural production, apply technical advances in order to raise yields of industrial crops and strongly develop cattle farms, increasing the husbandry ratio in the agricultural production value. The total value of agricultural production, forestry and fishery shall reach VND 3,630 billion (at 1994 prices) by 2010, with an annual growth rate of 9.2%.

+ Food production: To practice intensive farming, grow new rice strains created by technical advances in localities having favorable water irrigation and drainage conditions, for the purpose of raising rice yields in low mountainous districts. For high mountainous districts: the acreage of land under food crops shall be increased only in areas where there are conditions for building small reservoirs, while land areas suffering from water shortage and terraced rice fields shall be gradually converted for cultivating maize, soybean and fruit trees, and deforestation for terraced field land shall be minimized. To achieve an annual rice yield of 4.5 tons/hectare and a total food output of over 380,000 tons by 2010.

+ Industrial crops: To stabilize the land area under raw material plants, and concentrate on intensive farming to raise yields, with a view to sufficiently supplying raw materials for the processing industry. More concretely:

. Sugarcane: 26,150 hectares, with intensive farming and use of new varieties for higher yields and thereby sufficiently supplying raw materials for sugar refineries, including:

+ Lam Son sugarcane area (largely in Ngoc Lac and Thuong Xuan districts): on an area of 10,800 hectares and with an output of 724,000 tons.

+ The northern sugarcane area (largely in Thach Thanh and Cam Thuy districts): on an area of 10,600 hectares and with an output of 682,000 tons.

+ The southwestern sugarcane area (largely in Nhu Xuan and Nhu Thanh districts): on an area of 4,750 hectares and with an output of 295,000 tons.

. Cassava shall be planted largely in Ba Thuoc and Nhu Xuan districts on an area of 7,000 hectares and with an output of 175,000 tons.

. Pineapple shall be planted largely in Nhu Thanh district, on an annual area of 1,000 hectares and with an output of 25,000 ' 30,000 tons.

. Groundnut: The groundnut area shall be increased from 3,250 hectares to 4,000 hectares with an output of 6,600 tons.

. Soybean: The soybean area shall be increased to 3,400 hectares by 2010 with an output of 5,220 tons.

. Perennial industrial trees: To concentrate on development of rubber trees on an area of 10,000 hectares or more by 2010, of which the newly planted rubber area shall be 2,600 hectares or more, largely in Nhu Xuan, Ngoc Lac, Thach Thanh and Cam Thuy districts. The dry latex output shall reach 5,000 ' 6,000 tons.

+ Regarding husbandry:

To strongly develop cattle rearing, focusing on solutions to quickly increasing cow and buffalo herds, thus creating a breakthrough in both quantity and quality; to encourage the development of farm husbandry and form concentrated husbandry areas which turn out commodity products, and increase the ratio of husbandry in agricultural production value to 35% or higher.

By 2010, the cow herd, with an annual growth rate of 14.8%, shall reach 170,000, of which 68,000 shall be crossbred cows, accounting for 40% of the total number; the buffalo herd, with an annual growth rate of 4.5%, shall reach 200,000; and the pig herd, with an annual growth rate of 6%, shall reach 490,000. To strongly develop the milch cow herd farmed by local people.

- Regarding forestry:

+ To continue reforming the forestry management mechanism, encourage the development of various types of forest, especially production forests, forest areas planted with paper raw material trees and forest areas for other forest products. To well carry out the contractual assignment of forests in suitability with each population quarter, effectively protect existing forest land acreage, create jobs for local people and step by step stabilize their life, thus contributing to hunger eradication and poverty alleviation.

+ To revise and adjust the planning on three types of forest, which determines appropriate acreages of special-use forests and protective forests, for the purpose of strictly protecting strategic protective forests; to increase the acreage of production forests. By 2010, the total forest acreage shall reach 527,856 hectares, including 201,718 hectares of protective forests, 72,157 hectares of special-use forests and 253,963 hectares of production forests, with the forest coverage of 61.5% (against 53% for the whole province). Products exploited from forests are expected to reach between 45,000 ' 50,000 m3 of timber, 18 - 20 million of luong (a bamboo species), and 250,000 tons of paper raw materials.

+ To work out a planning on and build a paper raw material zone with an area of 173,000 hectares in seven districts (Muong Lat, Quan Son, Quan Hoa, Ba Thuoc, Lang Chanh, Ngoc Lac and Cam Thuy) to supply raw materials for Chau Loc paper mill with an annual output of 60,000 tons of paper pulp.

+ To formulate a scheme on development of Ma river's headwater protective forests under the mechanism whereby the State shall sufficiently supply food to local people for protecting and developing forests.

- Regarding fishery: To fully exploit ponds and lakes for traditional rearing or cage rearing of fishes, and convert low-yield rice field areas for fish rearing in combination with rice cultivation; to strive for a total aquaculture area of 3,500 hectares, with an output of 7,770 tons of assorted fishes.

c/ Regarding development of industry and construction

To strive to achieve by 2010 the industrial production - construction value of VND 5,870 billion, and an annual growth rate of 27%. To concentrate on the development of such industries with comparative edges as production of construction materials, exploitation and processing of minerals, processing of agricultural and forest products in association with development of raw materials areas; to develop industrial clusters in association with urban development along Ho Chi Minh Road in Thach Quang (Thach Thanh), Bai Tranh (Nhu Xuan) and Pho Cong (Ngoc Lac). More concretely:

- Agricultural and forest product processing industry:

+ To consolidate existing production establishments, invest in the pineapple jelly production chain of Nhu Thanh pineapple processing factory and fully exploit the capacity of Viet Dai sugar plant to reach an annual output of 90,000 tons of products, and cassava processing factories.

+ To build a new rubber latex processing factory with a capacity of 3,000 tons of dry latex per year.

+ To build a factory for making floor boards from luong trees with a capacity of 100,000 m2 per year.

+ To develop establishments processing agricultural products in direct service of ethnic minority people, such as rice and maize mills, and establishments processing soybean or livestock feed, etc.

- Construction materials production industry:

+ To build Ngoc Lac cement factory with a capacity of 1.4 million tons per year.

+ To build Ngoc Lac tunnel brick factory with a capacity of 25 million bricks per year; an adobe brick factory with a capacity of 20 million bricks per year in Ba Thuoc, a fibro-cement roofing sheet factory a capacity of 1 million m2 per year in Ngoc Lac (note: under the Prime Minister's Decision No. 133/2004/QD-TTg of July 20, 2004); and an export flooring and wall-covering ashlar factory in Lang Chanh and Ngoc Lac with a capacity of 500,000 m2 per year.

- Power and hydroelectric power industry: To study the planning on development of grade hydroelectric power plants on rivers of the systems of Ma river, Chu river and other rivers.

+ To complete the construction of Cua Dat hydroelectric power plant with a capacity of 97 MW.

+ To build Ban Uon hydroelectric power plant with a capacity of 280 MW.

+ To build Song Lo hydroelectric power plant with a capacity of 92 MW.

+ To build a number of small-sized hydroelectric power plants, such as Suoi Bom (4.5 MW), Sao Luong (3.5 MW), Chang river (3 MW), Tam Lu (7 MW), etc.

- Mineral exploitation and processing industry:

+ To build an iron ore exploitation and processing factory in Nhu Xuan ' Nhu Thanh with a capacity of 72,000 tons per year; Lang Chanh kaolin sorting plant with a capacity of 200,000 tons per year, Cam Thuy flour production factory with a capacity of 40,000 tons per year and a micro-biological fertilizer production factory in Ngoc Lac and Thach Thanh with a capacity of 20,000 tons per year.

- To build Van Du export garment factory (Thach Thanh) with a capacity of 500,000 products/year; and Ngoc Lac export garment factory with a capacity of 1 million products/year.

- To vigorously develop rural cottage industries and handicrafts such as brocade weaving, small-sized mechanical establishments producing instruments, farm tools, repairing and producing spare parts of means of transport; and at the same time localize some other occupations and crafts.

d/ Regarding development of services

By 2010, the value of services provided shall reach VND 2,410 billion, with an annual growth rate of 15.7%.

- The value of export goods shall reach USD 50 million. The major groups of export goods items include:

+ Agricultural and forest products: The value of these products shall reach USD 27 million (sugar, cassava flour, rubber, tea, floor boards, wood products, bamboo chopsticks, other forest specialties, cattle meat, etc.).

+ Minerals and construction materials: The value of these products shall reach USD 13 million (flooring and wall-covering ashlar, cement, assorted ores, etc.).

+ Industries, cottage industries and handicrafts: The value of industrial and handicraft products shall reach USD 10 million (garments, wickerwork, handicraft and fine-art articles, etc.).

- Regarding trade: To organize the efficient operation of the rural market network, build new markets and solidify existing markets under programs and projects. To promote the development and enhance the management of private trade, form a network of outlets and sufficiently supply goods items under social policies to ethnic minority people, thus step by step improving the circulation of foods and satisfying the requirements of goods transaction in mountainous areas.

+ To continue the transformation of service cooperatives and raise their operation efficiency, and ensure quality inputs and outlets for products made by peasants.

- Regarding tourism: To invest in the development of infrastructures and tap natural resource potentials for tourism in such scenic places as Ben En national park, Cam Luong fish stream, Cua Dat lake, and Pu Hu and Pu Luong nature conservation zones, in combination with the preservation and promotion of cultural, festive and ritual activities as distinctive features of ethnic minority people in the mountainous region of Thanh Hoa province, for the purpose of developing ecological and cultural tourism.

- To accelerate the investment in building Na Meo border-gate economic zone (Quan Son district) commensurate with an international border-gate. To upgrade Ten Tan border-gate (Muong Lat district) into a major national border-gate, opening up economic-cultural exchange with the northern region of Laos.

- To boost the provision of passenger and cargo transport, information and communications, and banking credit services; to strongly develop people's credit institutions, create conditions for bringing credit capital to residential quarters, and assist all economic sectors and people in borrowing capital for production development, hunger eradication and poverty alleviation.

e/ Regarding the development of cultural and social domains

- Education and training:

+ To firmly consolidate the achievements of the universalization of primary education to children of proper age, intensify the universalization of lower secondary education in mountainous districts, striving for the target that by 2010, 100% of mountainous communes shall attain the standards of lower secondary education universalization.

+ To sufficiently supply teachers and ensure the structure of teachers for all grades and study subjects; 100% of teachers shall attain the required standards, of whom 20% shall reach above the standards and 80% shall be residents in mountainous districts.

+ To intensify the investment in material foundations of, and build preschools and general education schools up to national standards. To strive for the target that by 2010, 30% of schools in 11 mountainous districts shall attain the national standards and 80% of classrooms shall be solidified. To invest in dwelling houses for teachers in highland communes meeting with exceptional difficulties.

+ To continue investing in the completion of material foundations and supply of adequate teaching equipment for district- and provincial-level boarding schools for ethnic minority people who shall be provided with both general education and vocational education.

+ To concentrate on completing the construction of Ngoc Lac technical school.

+ To invest in upgrading continuing education centers in mountainous districts; to expand the network of community-based learning centers in communes, and build a number of district-level job-training schools and centers.

- Medicine and healthcare for the people:

+ To complete the investment in a 400-bed regional general hospital in Ngoc Lac.

+ To intensify the investment in building material foundations for district-level healthcare centers, upgrade hospitals in border highland districts of Muong Lat and Quan Son and 10 regional general clinics and 157 commune health stations.

. To ensure that 100% of communes shall have health stations, of which 60% shall have medical doctors in service; 70% of communes shall attain the national health standards, and 100% of villages and hamlets have medical workers in service. To build district-level preventive medicine centers.

. To well realize the national health programs in order to reduce the percentage of malnourished children to 28%, to reduce the malaria morbidity rate by 10%/year and the goiter morbidity rate by 1.5%/year, to improve the health and prolong the lifespan of local people.

- Labor, employment and social issues:

+ To intensify the propagation and multiplication of rural crafts and trades, thus raising the rate of working time of employed rural laborers to 85%; to restructure the labor force in the direction of reducing the ratio of agricultural laborers and increasing the ratio of industrial and service laborers. To strive to achieve the rate of trained laborers at 25%.

+ To continue investing in the consolidation of essential infrastructure for communes, develop production and create more jobs for local people, thus raising their living standards, eradicate hunger and alleviate poverty, and reduce the percentage of poor households to below 25% (under the new criteria) by 2010.

+ To build five or six social education and labor centers in mountainous areas.

- Culture-information, radio and television:

+ To ensure the quality and time volume of radio and television broadcasts, and expand broadcasting coverage to highland and border areas; to increase radio programs in ethnic minority languages; television broadcasts shall cover 95% of the population and radio broadcasts shall cover 100% of the population.

. To build radio and television stations in Ky Tan ' Ba Thuoc to expand the broadcasting coverage in mountainous areas, and build a number of radio and television stations in Muong Lat, Quan Hoa and Quan Son districts in service of people in highland areas.

+ To commence the building of 100 cultured villages every year.

+ By 2010, 70% of families shall reach the standards of cultured families; 100% of communes shall have shelves of law books and books on agricultural, forestry and fishery production techniques. 100% of communes shall have cultural post offices.

. To build 6 new district-level cultural and sport centers, upgrade 5 existing sport centers, and make sport training activities an everyday routine in offices and schools.

5. Firm maintenance of defense and security

- To closely combine socio-economic development with consolidation of defense and security, especially border security. To commence the construction of Muong Lat economic-defense zone, and concurrently study the construction of a number of economic-defense zones in other border districts in order to safeguard the national border.

- To accelerate the investment in building Na Meo border-gate economic zone into a border-gate for economic exchange with Hua Phuan province (the Lao People's Democratic Republic) and invest in upgrading Ten Tan border-gate.

- To build routes for border patrol, ensuring mobility in all circumstances and in combination with socio-economic development.

- To upgrade the material foundations of existing border-guard posts and build more border-guard posts along the borderline and more border marker posts so as to firmly maintain border security.

- To well perform the work of farming and residence sedentarization and stabilization of free migrants, thus creating conditions for local people to permanently stabilize their life; to plan and formulate projects on resettlement of population in 15 border communes and relocation of a number of villages and hamlets to border areas for the purpose of border safeguarding, economic development and building of a peaceful and friendship border.

- To intensify the work of law dissemination and education, redouble vigilance, proactively prevent and mobilize people to fight and frustrate all schemes of hostile forces and prevent illegal religious preachment among ethnic minority people.

6. Building of political systems and a contingent of cadres at all levels meeting requirements of tasks

- To attach importance to the building and consolidation of clean and strong political systems at all levels, considering them a factor decisive to the successful achievement of the objectives of socio-economic development and defense and security maintenance in mountainous areas.

- To train a contingent of local cadres to raise their qualifications and capabilities, ensuring that by 2010, 100% of key cadres of mountainous districts shall be standardized and 100% of professional cadres shall have an intermediate or higher degree.

- To intensify the professional training of grassroots cadres in mountainous areas in order to raise their qualifications, ensuring that full-time cadres (secretaries, deputy secretaries, standing members of Party Committees, chairmen and vice chairmen of People's Councils, presidents and vice presidents of People's Committees of communes or district townships) shall have a higher secondary education degree and professional qualifications of intermediate or higher level and be provided with training courses on political theory and state management; cadres and public employees of communes or district townships shall have a lower secondary education degree and professional qualifications of intermediate or higher level.

+ To provide training at the level equivalent to higher secondary education for 1,149 cadres.

+ To provide training for raising professional qualifications of cadres:

. Of intermediate degree: 2,396 cadres.

. Of university degree: 100 cadres.

+ To provide training in political theory:

. Of intermediate degree: 641 cadres.

. Of bachelor degree: 107 cadres.

+ To provide training in state management for 1,878 cadres.

7. Capital sources for development investment:

To achieve the objectives and fulfill the tasks set in the scheme, the total investment capital required for key projects and works in the 2005-2010 period shall be VND 22,480 billion, including:

- Support capital from the central budget (including ODA capital): VND 10,090 billion.

- Capital mobilized from local budgets: VND 1,030 billion.

- Capital mobilized from enterprises (including FDI) and the population: VND 11,360 billion.

(See the list of specific projects in the Appendix enclosed herewith).

8. Major solutions

a/ To revise, adjust and supplement existing plannings and work out new ones for use as a basis for socio-economic development, defense and security maintenance in the western region of Thanh Hoa province:

- To concentrate efforts on finalizing and submitting for approval the following plannings:

+ A planning on socio-economic development of the mountainous region of Thanh Hoa province till 2015, with orientations toward 2020.

+ A planning on construction of Ngoc Lac urban center and a planning on development of the urban system of the western region.

b/ To revise, supplement and formulate policies on promotion of production and business development in the western region:

To revise, supplement and formulate a number of mechanisms and policies on promotion of production and business development in the western region, concentrating on the following principal domains:

- Promotion and attraction of investment in the western region of Thanh Hoa province.

- Promotion of development of industries, cottage industries and handicrafts.

- Promotion of development of concentrated industrial plant areas.

- Promotion of development of husbandry and farm economy.

- Promotion of forest planting, zoning off for tending and protection.

- Promotion of development of rural and mountainous infrastructures.

- Training and use of human resource.

- Accelerated socialization of educational, healthcare, cultural, physical training and sport activities.

c/ To reform production relations, vigorously mobilize resources from all economic sectors for development investment:

- To well materialize the undertaking of assignment of land and forests in suitability with the province's practical requirements, thus ensuring every land lot has a real owner and raising land use efficiency.

- To strongly develop the household economy, farm economy and cooperative economy, and at the same time enhance the role of the state economy; to develop public-utility enterprises so as to ensure sufficient supply of materials and goods and sale of products for peasants. To organize the effective reorganization of state-owned forestry farms and agricultural farms under the Political Bureau's Resolution No. 28-NQ/TW of June 26, 2003, so that they can become centers providing scientific and technical instructions and promoting economic development in midland and mountainous areas.

- To create an environment and favorable conditions for receiving investment projects funded with support capital of the central budget (including ODA capital).

- To revise and supplement mechanisms and policies on encouragement and mobilization of all resources for construction of traffic and irrigation infrastructures, schools and health stations under the guideline "the State and the people make joint efforts." To encourage various investment forms, joint-venture and association with domestic and foreign organizations, especially enterprises investing in the agricultural and forest product processing, for production and business development.

- To prioritize investment in infrastructures in key areas, border areas, raw material plant areas and areas with development potentials with a view to attracting investors. To raise the use efficiency of investment capital, heighten the responsibility of investors and form a rational investment structure in order to realize quick and sustainable economic restructuring.

d/ To concentrate on training to raise the quality of human resources:

- To intensify the selection and training of cadres for the western region, especially district-level professional cadres, commune cadres and cadres of highland villages and hamlets, attaching importance to training of ethnic minority cadres. To work out plans on teaching of ethnic minority languages to cadres working in areas inhabited by ethnic minority people.

- To step up on-spot training through complementary education classes and training programs on state management or political theory, in order to speed up the training of grassroots-level cadres for mountainous areas.

- To well implement the regime of trainee pre-qualification or nomination for training and quickly increase the number of professionally qualified cadres in mountainous areas, especially professional cadres who have command of ethnic minority languages; to pay attention to the contingent of cadres engaged in agriculture and forestry extension, education-training and healthcare.

- To formulate policies and regimes for attracting and employing cadres in service of socio-economic development of the western region, especially grassroots cadres.

e/ To build political systems at all levels, and strengthen grassroots administrations

- To further carry out the movement of Party building and rectification, consolidate and raise the quality of the political systems at all levels, especially in communes, villages and hamlets in association with the building of comprehensively strong, safe and autonomous communes, wards, villages and hamlets. To concentrate efforts so that all mountainous hamlets have party members.

- To enhance the assignment and decentralization of responsibilities to local administrations in parallel with enhancement of discipline and order in direction and administration. To emphasize personal responsibility and sense of observance of discipline among cadres and public employees, and strictly handle those who are decadent, degenerate and indiscipline.

- To step up law education among people of all strata so that they become clearly aware of civil rights and obligations and actively participate in building local administrations and protecting our regime.

- To bring into full play the role of village chiefs and hamlet patriarchs, adopting policies on granting allowances for them in order to encourage them to well mobilize people to observe Party and State undertakings and policies, and maintain border security.

Article 2.- The People's Committee of Thanh Hoa province is assigned to:

1. Set up a steering committee for implementation of the scheme, headed by one of its leaders.

2. Continue concretizing the development objectives and orientations of branches and domains into specific programs and projects for the implementation of the scheme, ensuring the achievement of the set targets.

3. Coordinate with ministries and central-level branches in studying and proposing the Prime Minister to promulgate special mechanisms and policies to support the province in developing the socio-economic infrastructure of the province's western region, thus creating favorable conditions for and encouraging all economic sectors to develop production, business and service provision in the region.

4. Further step up administrative reform, creating a favorable environment for economic sectors, domestic and foreign investors to invest in the province's western region.

Concentrate on directing the allocation of investment capital from the state budget to projects according to their priority rank, to ensure their coordinated implementation and efficient investment.

5. Intensify the training of human resources for the western region, considering it a critical and strategic process for a long-term development of the region. Concentrate on directing and raising operation effectiveness of local administrations at all levels.

Article 3.- Ministries, ministerial-level agencies and Government-attached agencies shall base themselves on their respective functions and tasks to coordinate with the People's Committee of Thanh Hoa province in concretizing the scheme on socio-economic development and defense and security maintenance in the western region of Thanh Hoa province till 2010 into development investment programs and projects in the province's territory.

The Planning and Investment Ministry and the Finance Ministry shall coordinate with the People's Committee of Thanh Hoa province in studying and submitting to the Prime Minister for promulgation special mechanisms and policies to support the province in boosting investment in the development of socio-economic infrastructure in its western region, guaranteeing this region of development conditions equal to other regions throughout the country.

Article 4.- This Decision takes effect 15 days after its publication in "CONG BAO." The president of the People's Committee of Thanh Hoa province, ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies and heads of Government-attached agencies shall have to implement this Decision.